Seat adjuster



SCP- 25 1951 l J. B. PARSONS 2,568,930

SEAT ADJUSTER Filed Dec. 22, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet' 1 FIG. 1.

J. B. PARSONS SEAT ADJUSTER sept. 25, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D60. 22, 1945 JNVENToR dab/7 5. Fango/76 B KIEM...

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ling, the teeth ofv the. pawl bar. enmeshed lwith. the

Patented Sept. 25, 1951 U NIT E D STAT E S PAT E NT OFF I CE.y

SEAT ADJUSTERy John B'. Parsons, Toledo, Ohio Application December 22, 1945, Serial No. 636,717

4,C1aims. 1,

This invention relates to a vehicle'seat` adjusting mechanism'part-icularly adapted for movinga seat frametol one-of a-number offorward or rear- Ward@ positions:

Anobject is to produce a new andimproved vehicle seat adjusting mechanism having novel features: of construction'` militating against une controlled forwardly shiftingr movements of the adjustableseat notinfrequentlyfoccurringduring sudden vehicle stops'ordeceleration.

Another object ofV thiseinvention is to produce arr-automatic regulator assembly'of thef type described, comprisingsimply' Vformed Vinterconnecting elements adapted-'to be assembledV prior' to vehicle installation, thusfex'peditingfthemasspro- -ductionof the vehicle;-

Other objects and advantages of thisinrvention W-ill. hereinafter appear, and forpurposesof illustrationbut not of limitation, an` embodiment ofY the inventionis show-nin. the accompanying v drawings inwhich Y Figure 1` is-a` schematic drawing .showing the seat adjuster-mountedA adjacent the rfront seat of a.-motor vehicle; l

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view ofthe seat adjustingemechanism, partssbeing. cutaway more clearlyk to-illustrate the elements, thesamebeing shown-1 inthe rearwardly. adjusted position, the brokenv lines .indicating .thev position` of the elements inthe forward. position Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentaryview` of-,the

interconnecting.elements effecting the movement oi. thepawl bar.; and

Figurel, is .anenlarged fragmentary view show.-

,the steering wheel W. The front vehicleY seat S is adjustable. either forwardly or. rearwardly on the guide membersG in response to .actuationof .the mechanismA .tobe hereinafter described.

The adjustingA mechanism, Yas illustrated in Eigyure 2, comprises two divergent lever or regulator arms I and. I I, the adjacent ends of which aren pivotally connected. at. I 2A where, also, is joined an armA I3 of abracket member I4 connecting the mechanism A in' any, suitable manner. to the under side of the adjustableseat S. The opposite end'of the lever arm IIJl isconnected for swinging movement byv a rivet' I5. to one end of. a frame arm I6." VThel opposite endv ofithe frame arm I6 is pivotally connected for swinging. movement to one end of across kbar I'I; which is'positivelypo'si.- tioned atV the other end between. the adjacent ends of al pair of spaced and superposed stationary sheet metal frame members I 8, by means of 'shouldered rivets I8a, which, together withother.. like rivets, maintain the spaced relation between the frame membersto comprise a. rigid frame. part. As illustratedin Eigure 2, the aligned sheet metal members I8 are formedt'olbe progressively wider in the outer or forward direction moreV ably. to absorb the stressesencountered,during operation. The inner endof thelever arm I I.. is pivotally mountedV between the outer ends of, the frame members I8 by. means of'a shouldered rivet I8b. Theinner end of the assembly is anchored tothe vehicleV floor, by means of a bracketA I9 which is pivotally secured at 20 to an intermediate por.- tionof. the cross barv I'I. The outwardswinging movementof a` lever or bracket arm 2|, pivotally mounted between the. inner ends of the frame members I8, isf restricted by azrivet 22 secured to the inner end portionjof the frame arm I6'.

A fastener 23"niounted on the. arm 2| adjacent one end provides aballjoint with the inner end portion of a linear motor 26v permitting rocking movements thereof. Another fastener 2'I mount;- ed on. an intermediate portion of. the. lever arm II`provides another ball joint 28 between. the arm II andthe upper' end of a piston rod 29 forming a part'cf the linear motor. 26. Detailed `description of the linear motor is; considered unnecessary; suflice it to say that a tube 30 connects the linear motor with. a pump or other source of liquid lunder pressure (not shown). Electrical wires 3l andA 3Ia`fconduct electrical currentto a` solenoid 32 arranged within a' cylinder 34 and which, upon being energized, elects the opening of a valve, generally indicatedY at 33, permitting-thefiow of liquid into the cylinder toir'npartv outward movement to a. piston 29a and the piston rod 29'; A helical coil spring 3.5 isdi'sposed. alongside the linear motor, oneV end 36' ofthe coil spring being hooked on' thelever arm. 2|. and the other end 3J being attached. to the lever armj Ii "When thevalve 33 is open andthe pump is idle, the spring 3'5jmoves.' the arms I0 and'II inwardly. Reference Vis hereby madeto my co-pending? Patent 2,393,406, ,dated January 22', 1946andmy co-pending Patent No. 2,479,398, datedAugust 16, 1949 wherein the piston cylinder, assembly andpump mechanismare shown and described'in detail. l y

Manifes-tly, energlzation oi thesolenoid32ef fects the opening ofthe valvel33'permittingfli1- uid under pressure to enter the cylinder, causing the piston and piston `rod 28 to move outwardly, imparting forward rocking movement to the lever arms Il i and I I and thereby through the arm I3 and bracket I4 move the seat S forwardly, as illustrated by the broken lines in Figure 2. Such movement operates to tension the coil spring 3 5 in readiness to move the seat in the opposite direction as above explained. Y A v In the event the vehicle is abruptly stopped or decelerated, as by sudden application of brakes or collision, the seat S would ordinarily surge or move forwardly in an uncontrolled manner. It is desired to obviate such objectionable movement and, for that purpose, the inner end of the lever arm II is formed into an integral sector 38, the curved peripheral edge of which has inclined ratchet-like teeth 38a. Slidable longitudinally between the frame members I8 is a bar 4l), which is formed with longitudinally elongate slots 4I through which extend shouldered rivets 42. Thus, the slots 4I guide the longitudinal sliding movements of the bar 40. The outer end of the bar 40 is formed with inclined teeth 39a, which are adapted to be brought into mesh with certain of the teeth 38a of the sector 38 and in so doing, positively lock the sector and Aitsarm II against advancing movement, thereby militating against the objectionable surging movement above mentioned.

The inner end of the pawl bar 40 is formed with a substantially L-shaped finger extension 43 and projecting into such extension is an integral abutment 44 on the adjacent end of the llever or bracket arm 2l. The abutment 44 has a flatinner surface to engage a portion of the `extension 43. The other edge of the abutment 44 is inclined as indicated at 44a and the inside .edge of the finger 43 is so shaped that the bracket ,arm 2I can rock in a clockwise direction (Figure 3) without interfering with or imparting movement to the pawl bar. It is obvious, however, `that rocking movement of the arm 2| in the opposite or counterclockwise direction will cause the abutment 44 to engage the nger extension and l impart inward longitudinal movement to the pawl .members I8.

Thus, it will be manifest that upon a sudden Jolt of the vehicle moving forwardly, such as by a sudden stop or abrupt deceleration, the seat S 'tends to surge forwardly and in so doing, imparts,

through the regulatorarms I and II, an outward or forward movement to the piston 29 and cylinder 34. 'I'his movement is imparted to the bracket arm 2|, which, in view of its rivet and `slot connection with the frame members I8, also moves forward, rocking about the rivet 22 as a fulcrum, and causes the pawl bar similarly to move so that its teeth engage and mesh with the teeth in the sector 38. The movement by which the pawl bar is brought into meshing engagement with the sector 38 is very slight because normally the teeth' on the pawl bar are in close juxtaposition to the teeth of the sector. In this lmanner, under the circumstances mentioned, the

4 seat S is positively locked in position almost immediately and without any appreciable forward movement. As will hereinafter appear, the parts remain such locked positiononly until the jar or shock has subsided or the force dissipated.

The slight forward movement of the seat in the event of sudden vehicle deceleration causes the piston 23a to move forwardly or outwardly in the cylinder 34 and thus creates a partial vacuum in asmuch as the solenoid operated valve 33 is closed or seated. This partial vacuum operates to retain the lever arm 2| in the raised position effectively to maintain the mechanism in locked engagement as previously described.

Normally, the teeth on the sector 38 and the pawl bar 40 are disengaged in response to the inwardly acting forces exerted by the coil spring 35 on the lever arm I0 and the arm 2I which, operating through the cylinder assembly as a rigid strut, forces the pivotal portion ofthe lever arm 2I and the pawl bar 40 to the outward or the disengaged position. The above movements are made possible in view of the predetermined distribution of force moments, it being evident that the inwardly acting forces exerted by the coil spring 35 are substantially equal. However, since the distance between the spring connection 38 and the cylinder anchor which operates as the pivot for the arm 2l, is greater than the distance between the spring connection 31 on the arm Il and the upper connection of the piston rod, a greater leverage or force results in connection with the former combination which operates to move the arm 2I in the direction above stated.

In addition, the teeth on the sector 38 and pawl bar 48 are inclined to afford substantially cam surfaces so that rocking movement of the arm II in a clockwise direction, such as when the seat is moved rearwardly, operates to cam the pawl bar teeth away from the sector teeth. Manifestly, operation of the mechanism to cause rearward movement of the seat S operates positively to disengage the teeth. Thus the locking action of the teeth is effective only to check the forward movement of the seat.

The mechanism above described is entirely automatic in operation and due to its simplicity and positiveness, is entirely reliable and eiiicient. forming a part of the seat adjusting mechanism which can be conveniently vinstalled on the vehicle at one time.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an automotive vehicle having a seat mounted for back and forth shifting movements, power mechanism connected to the seat for effecting such shifting movements, said mechanism including a frame having a cross bar at one end, a mounting bracket for said cross bar, a pair of arms secured to said cross bar and extending in a general parallel direction, one of said arms being fixed to the cross bar and the other one mounted for pivotal movements, a pair or regulator arms pivoted at their outer ends to the opposite ends of said frame arms, a pivotal connection between the inner ends of said arms, a connection between said inner ends andthe seat whereby conjoint swinging movement of said arms imparts shifting movement to the -seat in one direction or the other, a piston and cylinder assembly connected at one end to one of said regulator arms, a bracket arm pivoted to one of said frame arms at one end, a mounting for the other end of said piston and cylinder assembly on said bracket arm adjacent the pivotal connection thereof, a 4coil spring secured at one end to the free end portion of said bracket arm and to the other of said regulator arms, a toothed sector forming a part of one of the regulator arms, a bar mounted for rectilinear movement on one frame arm, teeth on the end of said bar for engagement with the teeth of said sector, an extension on the end of said bracket arm in the region of the pivotal mounting thereof, and co-acting cam surfaces on said extension and the adjacent portion of said bar whereby rocking movement of said bracket arm in one direction causes movement of said bar in a direction toward the sector for causing the teeth on the bar to engage the sector teeth to lock the regulator arms from movement, movement of the bracket arm in the opposite direction causing movement of said bar in the opposite direction to free the teeth from engagement.

2. In an automotive vehicle having a iloor and a frame rigidly secured thereto, a seat mounted on said iloor for back and forth shifting movements, power mechanism connected to the seat for eifecting such shifting movements, said `mechanism comprising an arm pivoted at one end to said frame and pivotally connected to the seat at its opposite end, a piston and cylinder assembly means connecting one end of said assembly parts to said frame, the other of said assembly parts being operatively connected to said arm for imparting swinging movement thereto, a toothed sector forming part of said arm, a bar mounted on said frame for rectilinear movement toward and away from said toothed sector, teeth on said bar for meshing with the teeth of said sector, and said assembly connecting means having a lost motion connection with said frame and being in operative engagement with said bar whereby a sudden movement of the seat imparts movement to the piston and cylinder assembly thereby to move said bar to cause the teeth thereof to engage the teeth of the sector and lock the arm against swinging movement.

3. A mechanism as claimed in claim 2, in which the operative connection between the piston and cylinder assembly and the bar comprises a springtensioned bracket arm to which one end of the piston and cylinder assembly is connected, a support providing a pivotal mounting for one end portion of said bracket arm, an extension on such end of said bracket arm, and means connecting said extension and said bar whereby rocking movement of said bracket arm imparts rectilinear movement to said bar.

4. In an automotive vehicle having a floor and a frame rigidly secured thereto, a seat mounted on said oor for back and forth shifting movements, power mechanism connected to the seat for effecting such shifting movements, said mechanism comprising an arm pivoted at one end to said frame and pivotally connected to the seat at its opposite end, a motor assembly including linearly movable parts, means connecting one end of said assembly parts to said frame, the other of said assembly parts being operatively connected to said arm for imparting swinging movement thereto, a sector swinging with said arm, a bar mounted on said frame for movement toward and away from said sector, detent means on said bar for engaging said sector, and said assembly connecting means having a lost motion connection with said frame and being in operative engagement with said bar whereby a sudden movement of the seat imparts movement to the said motor assembly thereby to move said bar to cause the detent means thereof to engage the sector and lock the arm against swinging movement.

JOHN B. PARSONS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,857,106 Bishop May 3, 1932 1,934,893 Thomas Nov. 14, 1933 1,962,789 Simpson et al. June 12, 1934 2,064,592 De Cary Dec. 15, 1936 2,227,717 Jones Jan. 7, 1941 2,242,247 Grant May 2-0, 1941 2,283,761 Richter May 19, 1942 

